Napoleon Voyer (1882 - 1925)

Napoleon did not waste time in finding a new wife, in just over a year after Marie Anne's demise he married Marie Rose Delima Dion, my great great Grandmother on August 14,1882 in Saint Joseph de Beauce. I can hardly blame Napoleon for remarrying so quickly, he had four young children, ages, eight, six, five, and three in 1882. It was common practice and I would say that it was expected.

Napoleon and Marie Rose Delima had seven children together; Marie Anne Aurelie Voyer (1885 - 1976), Louis Napoleon Zephirin Voyer (1887 - 1944) Marie Pomela Ernestine Voyer (1888 - 1972),
Joseph Alfred Albert Voyer (1890 - 1890), Joseph Joachim Ulric Voyer (1892 - 1935), Marie Alphonsine Noella Gerardine Voyer (1897 - 1898), Marie Rosilda Delia Graziella Voyer (1899 - 1990). Along with the four children that Napoleon had with Marie Anne Bonin that made a total of eleven children although only five of Napoleon and Marie Rose Delima's children survived until adulthood. Still, that was a family of nine children, not insignificant but not untypical of French - Canadian families at that time.

Marie Rose Delima Dion is seated on the bottom right

I could not find Napoleon in the 1881 census but he does appear in the 1891 Canadian census. In 1891 both Napoleon and Marie Rose Delima were listed in the census. Napoleon is 40 years old and Marie Rose Delima is 34. There were eight people living in their home in 1891. According to the census, the Voyer family was living in the Saint Roch quarter of Quebec City, not the worst part of the city in 1891.Napoleon's profession is listed as 'Commi Voyageur' which translates into English as business agent or business representative. I interpret it as a sales representative. I have a theory that Napoleon went to work for J.B. Renaud and Company. The reason I say is that is that J.B. Renaud opened his store in 1850 in Quebec City and quickly moved into other enterprises. Also, my grandfather, Ulric Voyer, worked for J.B. Renaud. It was not untypical for the son to go into the same business as the father in those days. I will have to investigate this theory. There is another term written in the census but I cannot make out the word so I don't know what it means. According to the census both Napoleon and Marie Rose Delima could read and write.

In the 1901 census Napoleon is listed along with Marie Rose Delima and seven of their children. By 1901, the Voyer family had moved to the Jacques Cartier quarter of Quebec City. it is interesting to note that in the census it is recorded that everyone in the Voyer household is listed as being able to read and write French. Only Napoleon, Delphine and Maria could speak English. In Quebec City in 1901 that was quite progressive and exceptional, most people in Quebec at that time were unilingual French. Napoleon's profession is still listed as being a 'Commi Voyageur'. There were twelve people living in the Voyer home in 1901. What is interesting is that Napoleon's income is listed in the census. His salary is listed as $800 and I believe he listed his commission as well, $100. His total income for 1901 was $900. That does not seem like a lot of money but when you come that the average wage of production workers in Montreal in 1901 they earned on average $ 375 per annum. Office and supervisory employees earned on average $846 per annum. Napoleon earned $900 per annum so I would say that he had an above average income in 1901. I am starting to understand how Napoleon could afford to give my grandfather Ulric Voyer a musical education.

In the 1911 Canadian census there were more interesting facts to explore. The voyer family was living in Saint Roch again. The census list Napoleon Voyer (age 61), Delima Voyer (age 53), Marie Anne Voyer (age 23), Maria Voyer (age 21), Georgiella Voyer (age 12), and Ulric Voyer (age 19). There was one other person listed, Bernadette Henri, 24 years old whom I suspect was a house servant. This shows that there were only five children still living at home. Two sons, Louis Voyer (age 24), Joseph Voyer (age 21) were not listed. I would assume that they had left the home to start their own lives. I will have to look into this another time.

Regarding work, Napoleon stated that he worked 52 weeks out of the year and that he worked 60 hours per week. If you look at other entries in the census, a 60 hour work week was pretty common at the time. Regarding income, Napoleon made an above average income. He listed his income as $1200 per annum in 1911. According to Statistics Canada, the average yearly earnings in 1911 for Quebec City was $584.42. Napoleon's income for that years was more than twice the average. He was making a pretty good living in 1911! The census also lists insurance information. In 1911, Napoleon had $500 in life insurance and $61 dollars in accident and sickness insurance. The total cost of the insurance was $20.

Everyone in the Voyer household could read and write French but only Napoleon, Marie Rosilsa Delia Graziella (who worked in an office), and Ulric could read and write English and although it is documented, they could also speak English. Napoleon probably saw facility in English as being important because of his profession as a businessman.

The 1921 Canadian census is not quite as informative as the previous census records. In fact, much of it is illegible and there are many cross - outs.In the census there is only Napoleon and Delima living at 54. Saint Francois, in Saint Roch. Although he is 71 years old, Napoleon is still listed as a 'Commi Voyageur' business agent. His income is listed as $1800 per annum. Napoleon's income is 74% greater than the average income in Quebec City for 1921.

To finish this post I just want to mention two of the notarial acts that I found for Napoleon. I am sure there are many more. I found several notarial records like the one I mentioned in the previous post but these are the only two acts that I found that give the details of the record.

The first notarial act was on January 3, 1901. The act refers to his first wife and the fact that they were married without a marriage contract and that she died intestate. It seems that someone, Francois Voyer, whom I initially thought was his father but now I am not sure, was inquiring about what dowery Napoleon's daughter's would have from his first wife's estate. In short, Napoleon sated that there was no estate. I will have to look further into this because I find it interesting that Napoleon married his first wife without a marriage contract and she died without a will. Almost everyone in Quebec at that time was married with a marriage contract.

The second notarial act has to do with a building that Napoleon was renting or leasing to Joseph Boutin. It appears that Joseph was going to use the building as a store. There are many stipulations in the act as to what Joseph can and cannot do with the building. The thing that I want to point out is that Napoleon owned property other than his own residence that he used to earn income. I wonder if he had other properties that he owned. There is much more to learn about Napoleon Voyer but for now I should wrap up this post.

Napoleon Voyer died on September 17, 1925 and was buried on September 19, 1925 in Cimetiere St. Charles in Quebec City. Marie Rose Delima Dion died on September 26, 1926 in Quebec, City, just little over a year after Napoleon passed away.